district in Zaanstad
Nieuw West
Nieuw West has 7 neighbourhoods with 13,740 residents in total.
Nieuw West is a modern extension of Zaanstad around Westerwatering, 13,740 residents across seven neighbourhoods with water woven through the layout. Safety scores highest here at 6.9, and wealth & income follows at 5.8. Quiet & nature stays the weakest pillar at 4.5, pulling the overall down to 4.7. For families the district sits a good deal higher, at 7.1. A planned residential district that trades away its quiet.
no. 6 of the 19 districts of Zaanstad
Short answer: Nieuw West scores 6.2 as a district of Zaanstad, no. 6 of the 19 districts of Zaanstad. Its strongest neighbourhood is Westerwatering Zuid (8.8), the worst Zaans Hout (2.8). The district has 7 neighbourhoods with 13,740 residents in total.
Key figures for Nieuw West
- residents
- 13,740
- neighbourhoods
- 7
- km² of land
- 4.7
How Nieuw West scores
Do some of these matter more to you than others?
The figures ⌄Safety
Registered crimes per 1,000 people present per year: residents plus business activity. Figures for small neighbourhoods are smoothed.
In 2025, 448 crimes were recorded here. The figures above are per 1,000 people present (residents + businesses).
Tick = Dutch median
The safest neighbourhoods in Zaanstad →The most dangerous neighbourhoods in Zaanstad →
The figures ⌄Wealth & income
What the homes are worth, what residents earn and how many homes stand empty. It describes the area, not the people living in it.
Not counted
Part of this score's subject, but not part of the grade.
Tick = Dutch median
The figures ⌄Quiet & nature
How tightly the addresses sit together, how much noise there is, and how much green, trees and water surround it.
Not counted
Part of this score's subject, but not part of the grade.
Not part of the grade: air quality varies mostly between regions, barely between neighbourhoods within one municipality. WHO guideline: 5 µg/m³. Calculated annual mean, RIVM 2024.
Tick = Dutch median
The figures ⌄Families
How practical this area is with children: distance to school and childcare, and how many children already live here.
Tick = Dutch median
Who lives here
Nieuw West has strikingly many residents aged 25 to 45: 31%, against 22% in the average Dutch neighbourhood.
Age profile
- 0–1515%
NL median 14%
- 15–2510%
NL median 11%
- 25–4531%
NL median 22%
- 45–6527%
NL median 28%
- 65+17%
NL median 22%
Share of residents per age group (CBS, 2025). All five bars share one scale, so their lengths can be compared with each other.
Average household size
2.2 — around the average
NL median 2.3
Single-person households
35% — more than average
NL median 31%
Households with children
35% — around the average
NL median 35%
Residents per km²
7,731 — far more densely populated than average
NL median 2,364
Tick = Dutch median. Households with children counts towards Families, population density towards Quiet & nature; the other figures here get no grade. Average of the neighbourhoods in Nieuw West, weighted by population.
The best and worst neighbourhoods of Nieuw West
The same total grade, the same yardstick — from the top to the bottom of Nieuw West.
Lowest grades
Neighbourhoods in Nieuw West
Sorted by total grade